Nearly two tons of pot seized near Jamul

JAMUL — Border Patrol agents seized nearly two tons of marijuana valued at more than $2.3 million from a semitrailer truck that was stopped Tuesday at the state Route 94 checkpoint near Jamul, federal officials said.

The 36-year-old driver and a 44-year-old passenger, both men and Mexican citizens, were arrested, said Border Patrol spokesman Rodolfo Zuniga.

The 2005 Freightliner truck was stopped about 12:40 p.m. A Border Patrol K-9 team alerted to the vehicle and it was sent to secondary inspection.

Inside the trailer, agents found large cellophane-wrapped bundles stacked inside numerous cardboard boxes. There were 175 bundles of marijuana weighing more than 3,900 pounds, Zuniga said.

The men and the drugs were turned over to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The truck was seized by the Border Patrol.